


but the road is wearier

by pushingdaisies



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Musicians, Roadie Raleigh, Singer Chuck, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-27
Packaged: 2018-04-27 04:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5034121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pushingdaisies/pseuds/pushingdaisies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of course, in the very beginning of Chuck's first full-length US tour, his uncle gets booked on narcotic charges amongst other charges. They can't continue on without finding a replacement. Chuck loathes the idea of replacing Scott but he knows there is no way in hell they'll manage a man short, which results in a compromise-- Herc can bring on this old friend he's been trying to sell Chuck on, but Chuck doesn't have to play nice because the guy won't be around long enough to waste pleasantries. Oddly enough, his ol'man agrees with little to no disgruntled grumbles and Chuck can't help but feel somewhat victorious, of course, that was until it was revealed that this 'old' friend isn't actually close to the age range he was expecting. </p><p>No, Raleigh Becket could only have been a few years older than Chuck. Which wasn't all that infuriating, more so perplexing, but then Choi seemed to have some buddy relationship with the replacement roadie. Of course, at the same time, there is nothing that Chuck actually <i>likes</i> about Raleigh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this for quite a while, this whole idea is completely my friend's and she humbly let me write this out for her ♡♡. Everything has been mostly planned out minus the exact ending but the inbetweens are in the works and I'm so excited to share this and work on this. 
> 
> For now my job schedule is pretty ... bare so I should be able to update this every Monday and if not I will give updates on my tumblr (if any one is looking for info).

The first show goes without a hitch, something that’s near fucking impossible Tendo claims, it’s Chuck’s first full-length U.S. tour and nerves that were frayed at the beginning are starting to heal and everyone takes a deep sigh of relief. Herc reminds them all to not get cocky, while the first show is indeed one of the most important shows, if they act like they’ve got it all down, they’re bound to fuck up at the other shows.

 

Scott wraps an arm around Chuck, he already reeks of alcohol and Chuck has to wrinkle his nose, he loves his uncle but sometimes Scott is too much. Herc’s warned him about it, Chuck had brushed off his father’s warnings, what was the worse Scott could do other than public drunkenness? “S’going good yeah? Great first show,” Scott tells him, his accent strong and heavy as it always happens to be when he gets drunk. To be honest, as long as he gets his shit done and the show goes on, Chuck doesn’t mind all that much.

 

He let’s his uncle drag him over towards the water station, where the water cooler is nearly empty at this point and there are trashed cups everywhere. Scott pulls out a flask from a pocket inside his jacket, pouring a generous amount of what Chuck can only guess is whiskey into two empty cups, he hands one to Chuck with a grin, “bottoms up, ey bluey? Good show n’all, first big tour, huh?” He nudges Chuck. The whiskey burns, he’s not drunk enough to be drinking it straight unlike Scott who downs it all in a single gulp. He can see Herc eyeing them wearily from the entrance to the backstage, his dad seems to contemplate something before he’s stalking over to the two of them, frown on his face.

 

His uncle pours another shot into his cup, raising it towards Herc. Chuck downs the rest of his drink, Herc opens his mouth to say something but Chuck’s brushing past him, knocking into his shoulder, to avoid whatever tirade he’s going to go off on to Scott. This is nothing new, there’s always something for Herc to complain about when it comes to Scott, he’s never bad mouthed Scott in front of Chuck but Chuck would be an idiot if he didn’t see the tension between the two brothers.

 

Chuck knows Scott isn’t the perfect uncle, he’s the “cool uncle”, he’s supposed to be wild and free. He doesn’t even wait for his dad to head back to the hotel, hitching a ride with Tendo and a few of the other roadies. “They fighting again?” Tendo asks, glancing only briefly at Chuck in the passenger seat, keeping his eyes on the road. Chuck drums his fingers on his guitar case, giving a slow nod and not saying anything else, he hates talking about it. The rest of the guys in the back stay quiet as Tendo turns on the radio and Chuck couldn’t be happier for the distraction.

 

When they reach the hotel, the guys all pile out, grabbing their equipment and whatever they brought with them, Tendo grabs onto Chuck’s arm, stopping him from following the others. “You alright?” He asks, Chuck wants to tell him to fuck off and to not be nosey, but the concern is evident in Tendo’s voice and it makes Chuck feel bad.

 

“I will be,” Chuck answers after a moment, “honest.” He gives Tendo a half smile before pulling his arm out of Tendo’s grip, “go call your wife, I’m sure she misses you.” Tendo thankfully picks up that Chuck wants to just be alone and nods his head.

 

“I’ll tell her you said hi.” 

                                                                                                

Herc comes storming into their shared hotel room two hours later, he’s red faced and obviously upset. Chuck keeps his mouth shut as Herc throws down his wallet and jacket with more force necessary. “Nothing but trouble,” he grunts out, yanking open the mini bar in the hotel room to pull out two beers, tossing one to Chuck.

 

“He just wants to rile you up,” Chuck replies, putting his guitar down to the side of the bed, looking annoyed at the bottle because it wasn’t a twist off. He goes to pop it against the bedside table but his father makes a disapproving noise so he waits till Herc tosses him the bottle opener.

 

“Well, he’s doing just that. Just wish he’d take this shit more seriously instead of getting piss drunk during a show.” Herc let’s out a long sigh, stretching back in one of the hotel chairs, propping his feet up onto the other bed. “It’s not just his ass on the line, if he fucks up, everything else goes to shit as well.”

 

Herc is fiercely proud of Chuck, though he won’t always admit it, and Chuck knows this. His father’s poured as much money, sweat, and tears into Chuck’s career as Chuck has himself. “I highly doubt Uncle Scott is gonna throw away his only nephew’s career for a quick alcohol buzz,” Chuck mumbles out, taking a sip of the shitty American beer the hotel has provided.

 

His father grunts, “You’d be surprised.”

                                                                                                

Chuck talks to Scott the next morning, feeling like a father having to scold his child for drinking, despite it being his uncle. Scott apologizes profusely, talks about his nerves are shot, how he’s scared as fuck about fucking this up for Chuck. They come to an agreement though, it’s nerve-wracking for both of them, between Chuck keeping up his voice and making sure he remembers his cords and lyrics and Scott making sure it sounds as good as it is. He teases Chuck that it’s really just all Chuck, all Tendo and Scott do is make sure it vibrates through the rest of the venue.

 

Still, Scott swears he won’t fuck this up for Chuck, never ever.

 

By the third show, Scott seems to have changed dramatically, he’s doesn’t reek of booze and sex, isn’t drinking during the show, and is actually helpful. It weirds Chuck out a little bit but he just figures Scott is turning a new leaf around for his only nephew, a fact Chuck eagerly (and happily) brings up, a lot.

                                                                                                

They fucking nail their fourth show, it is perfect from every aspect, no mistakes, no weird electrical glitches, nothing. Much like their first show, it’s perfect, maybe even better. Herc gives Chuck the biggest smile, like he’s so damn proud in that moment and Chuck thinks, well shit nothing can bring down his happy high right now.

 

The crew drinks of course, Herc buys them all a round of drinks and then some. Chuck gleefully signs autographs from dolled up groupies who bat their eyelashes at Chuck like it’ll do something, he likes the attention though and so he plays it up. Scott wanders off at some point during the night, Herc keeps passing him drinks and at one point drunkenly challenges Chuck to a drinking contest (Chuck is of course equally drunk enough to respond with a you’re fucking on old man). Someone buys jägerbombs and it’s becomes a total mess.

 

At around 3:29AM Herc finally drags him back to the hotel, he’s tripping over his own feet and Herc. “I want to—I want to call Max,” Chuck slurs out, he shakes Herc’s arm slightly, half holding himself up the wall. “I wanna facetime him, c’mon, lemme facetime Max.”

 

“It’s,” Herc squints, checking his watch and taking a moment, “it’s three in the morning Chuck, Mako and Stacker are sound asleep.” Herc’s response makes Chuck whine, they’d left Max with Herc’s old military buddy and his daughter at the beginning of his tour and he really misses his dog now.

 

Chuck drops like a brick onto his bed once they step into the room. Groaning as a wet and cold something presses against his cheek and neck. “Water.”

 

“Fuck off old man,” Chuck groans, swatting the water bottle away, Herc persists still and Chuck finally relents and takes the bottle. He downs half of it before twisting the cap back on and tossing it somewhere in the room.

 

He can hear Herc shuffling around the room, he doesn’t even bother to try and shuffle under the covers, his stomach is in knots and the room keeps spinning. “Don’t choke until I wake up tomorrow morning,” his father teases, he flips him the finger in response. Chuck finds himself finally drifting, the quiet tick of his father’s watch and the A/C lulling him to sleep.

                                                                                                

Chuck’s head is pounding when he wakes or—well not just his head he realizes once he wakes up a bit more. There’s pounding on a wall, maybe, Chuck blinks and lifts his head up slightly from the bed. Pounding on the door to be exact, it’s clear it’s woken his father up too. It’s not their door though; he finally manages to sit up, head pounding in time with the knocks. “Who the fuck—“ his father starts out.

 

“Scott Hansen, this is the police, open up.”

 

He and his father look at each other at the same time.

 

“Son of a fucking bitch,” Herc growls out, throwing his covers off and storming out the door. Chuck barely manages to not trip over his own feet as he stumbles out of his bed after his dad. There are five officers standing outside his uncle’s hotel door, Herc rubs a hand over his face as one of the officers glance over at him. “Can I help you?” Herc asks gruffly, “I’m Herc Hansen, Scott’s brother and boss.”

 

Scott opens the door and all hell breaks loose.

 

                                                                                                

In the end Scott is charged with four counts of possession of narcotics and solicitation for prostitution. Herc doesn’t say ‘I told you so’ and Chuck is incredibly thankful for his father keeping the words to himself. They’re at the police station, waiting for them to process Scott. They plain to bail him out if it’s possible, Chuck know’s Herc is reluctant to do so, considering this isn’t the first time Scott’s been in jail, nor is it the first time his father has bailed out his uncle.

 

One of the officers finally gets back to them, Scott’s gone up in front of a judge and the judge decided he was a flight risk, he can’t be bailed out. They’ve decided to press felony charges; they’re going to have an actual trial. Herc let’s out a defeated sigh and Chuck’s tour is one man down, he isn’t sure how they’re going to finish this, they can’t preform without Scott. They head back to the hotel, weary and defeated. Tendo meets up with them in their hotel room to figure out what they’re going to do.

 

“You know, there’s always Becket,” Tendo suggests, glancing over at Herc who’s looks like he’s about to drown himself with his beer bottle, “he’s better than anyone we could possibly find or pick up on this short of a notice.”

 

“…Think he’d be up to it?” Herc asks, Chuck raises an eyebrow, who the fuck are they even talking about?

 

“I could always call Chibs, he’d probably be able to sweet talk him into doing us this favor.”

 

Chuck growls, feeling frustrated that they seem to be talking over Chuck, “who the fuck is Becket?”

 

Herc rolls his eyes, “just an old friend Chuck, we can’t do this a man down, you know that.” Chuck doesn’t want to admit it, but his father’s right, without Scott they’re completely fucked, he did a lot of the sound checks and electrical checks. Tendo would be swamped by himself and fuck if the other roadies knew any amount of the shit Scott did, setting up the equipment and making sure the sound systems were working.

 

“Fine,” Chuck bites out, tilting his head back to let out a long sigh. “Call him up, tell him he better be able to keep up with Tendo.”

 

Both Tendo and his father let out a snort, Chuck flips them both off.

                                                                                                

“Chuck c’mere!” Herc calls out, it’s been a week since Scott’s been arrested, they had to push back two shows, deciding to just post-pone them rather than cancel them outright. Chuck grunts, stepping out of the tour bus they had rented, to be honest there was no real reason why they had rented it, half their crew drove trucks but Herc had insisted they only have a few cars and the bus for the tour.

 

Chuck steps out, raising an eyebrow expectantly at his father standing outside. He’s standing next to another guy who looks around Chuck’s age, wearing a beanie and looking like he hasn’t shaved in at least two weeks. “Yeah?” He replies, rather testily. Chuck eyes the other guy wearily, he looks kind of like a hipster, not that Chuck can really talk because as an indie artist, some of his biggest fans are a bunch of hipsters.

 

He can see Herc roll his eyes at his attitude. “This son,” he emphasis the ‘son’, “is my friend Raleigh Becket, he’s going to take over Scott’s position and help us out.” Herc doesn’t need to say ‘Chuck behave you little shit’ because Chuck can hear it in his voice. He’s a little surprised by Raleigh’s appearance, he’d been expecting a much older guy, considering Herc had originally called him an ‘old friend’, instead there’s a scruffy looking twenty-something guy, maybe a few years older than Chuck is.

 

Raleigh holds out a hand, smiling gently at Chuck, which he takes hesitantly, shaking his hand firmly. “It’s nice to meet you Chuck, I’m really excited to be working on your show and helping out.” Shit, he’s got a really nice voice Chuck can’t help but think, nodding politely as Raleigh continues on. He has digging feeling that he’s seen Raleigh somewhere but he’s not sure where exactly, his voice and his face are familiar though.

 

Chuck knows it’s going to bother him but there’s not much he can do about it other than straight out asking ‘Hey mate where have I see you before’ and Chuck has seen so many people on this tour that Raleigh could’ve easily just been a face he’s seen from an earlier show. “Sure, mate. Don’t fuck this up for me.”

 

For a moment, Raleigh seems taken aback by Chuck’s attitude, it doesn’t last long before he straightens back out and he gives Chuck another smile, “Of course.” It’s probably made to show Chuck he’s not afraid, but it just serves to piss Chuck off even more. He’s already mad about having to drop Scott from his tour, he doesn’t want someone new who doesn’t know what is what.

 

Herc sighs and Chuck ignores him, turning back to the tour bus and climbing back in, “If you need me, dad, I’ll be practicing for tomorrow shows. See you later, Rah-leigh.” He slams the screen door shut a little more forcefully than needed, but he’s near seething in anger, about Scott, about his dad, about how this show was supposed to be new and good for him and instead they’ve lost one of their best roadies. Raleigh better put up a damn good game.

 

                                                                                                

Chuck practices for what feels like hours before Herc bangs the door open, giving Chuck the I’m disappointed in you but I won’t breath a word of it look. He only raises an eyebrow and Herc gives a glare, “c’mon, we’re hitting the road.” Herc jerks his thumb backwards to the door. Chuck sighs, wishing his father had given him an earlier warning so he could have walked around for an hour before cramming into his father’s truck for hours.

 

“Fine,” Chuck sighs, packing his guitar up in the case and shrugging it over his shoulder. Chuck follows his father out the door to the tour bus, back to their truck. One of the roadies, Juice, Chuck thinks, is clamoring into the drivers side of the bus, must be his turn, Chuck thinks. As they reach the car, Chuck stops dead in his tracks, sitting in the passenger seat is Becket and Chuck barely opens his mouth before Herc admonishes him.

 

“I’m not leaving him to fend himself against the rest of the guys on the first day,” Herc chides, “throw your shit in the back and get a move on, c’mon.” He might as well have snapped his fingers, Chuck almost said something but the look his father gave him said it all. Instead of arguing, he carefully placed his guitar in the bed of the truck, pulling the tarp over the rest of the bags incase they hit any bad weather on the way. They were heading to Boston next, supposed to be a five hour car trip and Chuck honestly wasn’t looking forward to spending that time packed into a truck with Becket.

                                                                                                

The car ride is rife with silence the entire way, Herc (fuck his dad to be honest) attempted to placate the mood in the car, tried to create small talk. It wasn’t like Raleigh didn’t try either, but Chuck didn’t care, he didn’t want Raleigh to be here. He wanted Scott back but that was fucking impossible because his uncle was being held without bail and even if they could have bailed him out they couldn’t just leave the state he’d been arrested in. It wasn’t Raleigh’s fault but hell if Chuck didn’t act like it was, the whole situation sucked.

 

By the time they get to Boston, everyone is exhausted, having only stopped to get gas earlier. Chuck hoped that this tour would get him the fame and the money that came with it; first thing he’d do, would be to buy a fucking private jet. “I dunno, I think road tripping it seems kind of fun,” Raleigh quipped up from beside him; he must’ve said his thoughts out loud.

 

“Only an idiot would think it’s fun.” Chuck replied back, voice scathing; ignoring the glare Herc throws his way. Raleigh didn’t respond back, just gave Chuck a dopey smile and went to work pulling equipment out of the truck while Herc headed into the lobby to grab the rooms for the night.

 

Everyone quickly takes their key cards after Herc returns, a few of them staying behind to check on the bus and make sure it was completely locked. Chuck debated about leaving a couple of things inside the bus, they obviously couldn’t leave it in the back of the truck, but decided otherwise. Raleigh was carrying it anyways.

 

Raleigh pairs up with Tendo for a room and once again Chuck’s stuck with his dad. It’s a long night.

                                                                                                

It only takes them about an hour to set everything up when they reach the venue, Raleigh’s actually pretty handy with carrying the equipment back and forth, more than happy to grab two or three boxes from the bus and truck. He doesn’t complain at all unlike the rest of the roadies, just quietly grabs things and quickly sets them up to get ready for the show. Herc sets off to talk with the manager of the venue while the rest of the crew sets up the lights and Raleigh works on the sound checks. Everything seems to be set up, the crowd is slowly filling into their seats and the nerves start to fill up Chuck’s stomach as well. Obviously it isn’t his first rodeo but this is the first time he’s done a show without Scott’s help. It’s not like Scott made all his shows a success but he hasn’t even had time to really practice with Raleigh working on the sound.

 

Chuck feels like he’s ready to puke when Herc walks backstage and pats Chuck’s back. “Ready?” He asks quietly, like he’s talking in a library.

 

“Yeah, always.”

 

Raleigh has him test a few chords just to be sure before Chuck steps out on stage, nerves frayed and feeling like he’s ready to bolt. Show time.

                                                                                                

While everyone else declares it a perfect show, Chuck knows, it’s fucking not a perfect show. He’s snarling by the time he storms backstage, pulling off his guitar strap and stalking towards Raleigh. “Are you fucking stupid?” he yells, carefully putting his guitar in its case before slamming down the top, “what kind of fucking stupid mistake was that?”

 

Raleigh has the decency (Chuck thinks) to look surprised at what Chuck’s saying, “what are you talking ab—“ Chuck doesn’t even let him finish before he’s pointing to the sound board. Raleigh’s eyes follow Chuck’s hand but Chuck can tell he still doesn’t quite grasp what Chuck’s saying.

 

“Scott would’ve never made a stupid mistake like that, it would’ve sounded ten fucking times better if you’d put it in the lower slots!” He doesn’t care that he’s screaming now, his face is probably red and he knows he’ll get an earful from his father about it later. Scott would’ve never made a rookie mistake like that, it sounded okay but Chuck needs it to sound perfect.

 

“I’m not Scott, in case you haven’t noticed.” Raleigh hisses back, hands clenched into tight balls. His posture only serves to piss Chuck off even more, Chuck knows he can be an asshole but typically most people just back down when Chuck starts, Raleigh clearly won’t though.

 

Chuck scoffs, “no shit, it would’ve sounded ten times better had he been manning it.” He glares at Raleigh who simply crosses his arms. Raleigh only rolls his eyes, looking suddenly deflated, it makes Chuck fill with a sense of victory, because he’s clearly won this battle, if Becket wanted to be a roadie, he’d need to buck the fuck up.

 

“Holy shit Becket, nice going out there, you nailed it!” Tendo all but crashes past Chuck and into Raleigh, pulling the taller man into a headlock, “who knew you were still practicing after all this time.” The tense mood from earlier is completely gone but Chuck’s seething now, was he the only one who managed to see how badly Raleigh had fucked this show up? It wasn’t as if they sounded horrible, but it was off, Chuck could tell it was off, even if was just a fraction off.

 

A couple of the other roadies come over to congratulate Raleigh before giving Chuck a few slaps on the back and telling him how great he sounded. It’s frustrating, Chuck’s frustrated, he just wants his uncle back, not some hipster his father and his sound tech pulled out from the past, he wants some one who knows what to do and how to do it. Everyone thinks Raleigh is competent and the man for the job but Chuck doesn’t.

 

Chuck grabs his guitar case and starts heading to the backdoor, nearly running into Herc on his way out. It’s obvious Herc had been watching the fight unfold from earlier, he’s seething as much as Chuck is. “The hell is your problem Chuck? It was his first time with this group, he did damn well and you know it.”

 

“No, I don’t know,” Chuck spits out, letting his father tug him out to yell at him privately. Herc crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow at Chuck, his face says it all. He’s pissed at Chuck and it’s because of Raleigh, because Chuck refuses to give him a chance. Chuck knows he’s being stubborn but he refuses to admit that.

 

Herc instead just sighs, rubbing a hand over his face, “this needs to end and it needs to end now or you’re going to sabotage your own tour. I don’t care if you don’t get along with Raleigh but you need to be cordial with him, stop giving him such an attitude and let him do his job while you do yours. Do I make myself clear?”

 

I’m not a child Chuck wants to say, but he instead replies with a huffy “yes”. It’s frustrating because he knows Herc won’t side with this on him, he’s going to hold Scott’s failings over his head until Chuck admits defeat.

 

“Good, we’re gonna stay another night at the hotel, next show is at the Xfinity Center, s’only an hour drive from here, makes more sense to just stay an extra two nights instead of leavin’ and having to get a different hotel.” Chuck watches Herc bite at his cuticles, can tell his dad’s craving a cigarette but had given up smoking years ago after he’d gotten out of RAAF. Chuck just gives a shrug after he realises Herc’s asking him if he thinks it’s a good idea.

 

Chuck shoulders his guitar case, “you’re the boss. Whatever you think is best.”

 

Herc cuffs the back of Chuck’s head fondly, “c’mon you ass, I’ll buy you a round before I gotta call the idiot brother and figure out when this trial is set.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wah, sorry this got posted a day after it was supposed to. I got slammed with interviews and work and ppbpbpbht. hope you enjoy.

Chuck watches Herc trudge back to the table, face sullen, and eyebrows knitted together. He turns away from the table, locking eyes with one of the waiters and holding up two fingers for another round, the waiter smiles and wanders back to the bar. “You alright ol’man?” Chuck asks cautiously, he knows it’s about Scott, considering he’d just walked out twenty minutes earlier to call the jail cell Scott was being held in.

 

“Can’t get through to him right now, one of the officers was kind enough to offer to tell Scott to give me a call tomorrow morning. Christ, he sure got himself into a nasty mess this time. Don’t think I can bail him out this time either.” Herc rubs his hand over his face slowly, blinking at the two bottles of Coopers beer. “Smart kid, you are.”

 

They drink in silence for a while, listening to the other patrons chat and drink, watching one drunken fist fight. Herc’s phone vibrates and he glances at it briefly before pointing his bottle at Chuck. “Behave.”

 

Chuck’s eyebrows furrow together, “what?” he asks, feeling himself getting riled up for being blamed for something he apparently hadn’t even done yet. Herc doesn’t even have to answer before Tendo’s dragging Raleigh’s lanky form into the bar along with a few of the other roadies. Chuck only rolls his eyes, “did you text them?” he asks, trying to act nonchalant as he takes another swig of his beer.

 

Herc shrugs, “maybe.”

 

“Asshole,” he hisses as Tendo and Raleigh make their way over to the table. Herc reaches out and grabs Raleigh’s hand, shaking it vigorously.

 

“Hell of a show kid, knew you had it in you.” Chuck rolls his eyes again at Herc’s gushing while Raleigh looks sheepish from the praise. Despite the lack of light in the bar, Chuck can make out the blush that’s starting to form across his face.

 

Raleigh sits down opposite of Chuck while Tendo wanders off to grab them some beers from the bar. “Thank you, it’s been a while but I’m really glad you guys called me to help out, I’m having a lot of fun.” He’s practically glowing from the praise; it makes Chuck want to _gag_. Herc is all smiles, of course, if it had been Herc’s choice originally he would’ve never chosen Scott, probably would’ve chosen Raleigh from the beginning. Herc doesn’t have to say I told you so to Chuck because he’s damn well rubbing it in his face right now with Raleigh.

 

Chuck cocks his head and gives Raleigh a sort of grin, “so _Rah_ leigh, you’ve been doing this sort of thing for a while?” He doesn’t miss the twitch of annoyance in Raleigh’s smile.

 

“Used to uh, about five years ago, worked for this one guy. I’ve been practicing though on and off so I’m not completely rusty.” Chuck watches as Raleigh’s smile becomes somewhat coy, “I’ll make _sure_ to not make any mistakes next time.”

 

Herc kicks him from somewhere under the table and Chuck stiffens, “Whatever. Just don’t screw up again, if you do I’ll drop you like a bag of shit on the highway.” With that he shoves away from the table, digging into his pocket to pull out a couple of bills and dropping them on the table. “I’ll see you later, _dad_.”

 

As he’s leaving he can vaguely hear his dad tell Raleigh to ‘blame me for that one, raised him on me own’. Chuck could only roll his eyes, his father was so keen on keeping Raleigh around, fine, but Chuck didn’t have to like him.

 

Chuck decides to forgo trying to call a taxi, it’d take too much time and the drivers in America were always so nosy, asking a million questions like they were relatives of Chuck and he was obligated to answer them. He quickly typed in Mako’s number, putting the phone up to his ear as he started the trek back to the hotel.

 

“Max is fine before you ask anything.” Comes the quick response when the phone connects to the other line. Chuck laughs lowly, go figure Mako would answer him with that kind of response.

 

“You’re not fattening him up over there are you?” He asks, “you know how long it took me to get his weight back down from last time.”

 

It’s Mako’s turn to laugh, “of course Chuck, I’ve been keeping up with your strict rules and regulations for Max. He goes jogging with me every morning. It’s gotten quite cool here in the mornings.” Chuck sighs, he can imagine Max wobbling his way after Mako on a path, isn’t very hard. He fucking misses his dog. “How is the tour? I wish father and I could have gone to see you at least once.”

 

They make small talk while Chuck walks, it leads eventually to Mako shuffling around to grab Max and put him against the phone, his dog barks a couple of times and Chuck feels his chest tighten. When he finally reaches the hotel doors he says his goodbyes and hangs up, quickly heading up to his room to pass out in his bed. Everything feels overwhelming; everything had started off so well, was going well until Scott fucked up.

 

He knows he’s taking out his frustration on Becket, but it doesn’t stop him from reacting the way he does. He shuffles into the bed quickly, plugging his phone in before pulling the covers up and falling asleep.

In the morning they make their way to their sixth show, it sounds significantly better to Chuck, whatever mistake Raleigh had made the first time, he’s managed to fix. Everyone else still stands by their original statement that it sounds the same, it only serves to boil Chuck’s blood more, making him feel a little more indifferent and annoyed with Becket rather than grateful. They pack up and head back to their original hotel, unpacking and all heading out to the bar. Chuck declines the offers to leave, claiming he needs to work on some new material, he wants to introduce a new song but he has to get all the details perfect.

 

So what if Chuck spends the rest of the night drinking shitty hotel beer and watching some god-awful American drama on the late night telly, at least he’s not having to play nice. He manages to fall asleep before Herc comes back from the bar, avoiding any and all unwanted pointless conversations.

Chuck wakes up to quiet murmurs that slowly turn into yelling. He blinks blearily, rolling over in the bed to see his father pacing around the room with his cell pressed tight against his head. He’s got his usual _dealing with Scott_ frown on. “No, Scott, I can’t keep doing this, this isn’t—you need to realise that I’m here for my son, not you. No I do—fine, fucking fine but if you ever get out you better damn grovel for your fucking nephew’s forgiveness.”

 

Chuck rolls his eyes, he knows Herc’s using it as a guilt technique to try and sober Scott up, but Chuck just honestly doesn’t care anymore, his uncle can rot in prison for all he cares. “What’s going on now?” Chuck asks once Herc seems to have calmed down.

 

“Scott wants me to show up for the court date, they moved it sooner than we were expecting, dunno how long it’s going to take. His public defender wants to use me as a witness so I’m going to meet with them. Hope they realize I’m not taking his side this time.” Chuck almost feels bad at how defeated Herc looks, if anything Herc probably feels guilty for nearly ruining this entire tour, Chuck _knows_ they’re lucky they managed to find a replacement, even if he doesn’t like said replacement.

 

“So, you gonna fly out now or…?” Chuck trails off, looking at Herc expectantly; he wouldn’t be surprised if Herc was flying out. Secretly he was kind of thrilled, not that he hated having his father around, but it would be the first time he’d really taken off on his own.

 

Herc sighs and looks over at Chuck, “as long as you think you can handle it without me,” he replies.

 

“I think I can handle a couple of days without you, I have the interview but I can just have Tendo keep me—“

 

“Do _not_ bother Tendo while you’re stuck at the interview, he’s gotta set up the stage—“

 

“ _Fine_ , I’ll give Raleigh my number to text me and keep me updated.” Herc seems more pleased with that answer and doesn’t interject, just nods solemnly.

 

“Alright,” Herc says quietly, nodding again like he’s agreeing with whatever he’s thinking about. “I’m going to fly out on whatever next flight I can grab, I trust you can behave and handle the drive to New York by yourself.”

 

Chuck snorts, “yes _father_ I will be on my upmost behavior.” He watches Herc roll his eyes before smiling fondly at Chuck.

 

“Alright, c’mon, get up off yer lazy ass and drive me to the airport.”

Tendo trails along with them to the airport, Herc manages to get squeezed into the next flight out, gives both Tendo and Chuck instructions on what to do/say and reminds Chuck to _behave_. Chuck makes no promises, simply flips Herc off with a grin before Herc tugs him forward into an awkward hug.

By the time they get back, most of the group has packed the bus and remaining truck up, Chuck quickly runs back to his room to grab the rest of his gear, he beckons Raleigh to follow him as he walks back towards the truck. He places his guitar into the back of the truck, turning towards Raleigh and holding out his hand, “phone.”

 

Raleigh blinks and raises an eyebrow, “what?”

 

“Give me your phone.” Chuck let’s out an annoying sigh as Raleigh continues to stare at his outstretched hand, “I need to give you my number, my dad had to fly back out to talk to Scott’s lawyer and now I need you to keep me updated when I go to my interview in New York.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh seems to finally understand and digs into his pocket to pull out his phone; he swipes his thumb across it a few times before handing it over to Chuck. On the background is Raleigh and another slightly shorter blond guy, the shorter guy has his arm slung around Raleigh’s shoulders in the photo. Chuck swears he looks familiar but can’t place _where_ , feeling a sense of déjà vu from when he met Raleigh. He shoves the thought down and quickly thumbs his number into Raleigh’s phone, typing his name as CHansen in case he’d already added Herc’s as Hansen.

 

“Who are you riding with?” He asks while handing the phone back to Raleigh, he doesn’t exactly want to drive alone and despite his indifferent feelings toward Raleigh, he’d rather him than any of the other roadies. Raleigh shrugs while thumbing at his phone.

 

“I was probably going to ride in the bus since Tendo’s driving, don’t really know anyone else here and it’s still kind of weird.”

 

“Just hop in, I need to explain more of why I gave you my number anyway,” Chuck gives a nod toward the truck. Raleigh seems taken back for a moment before nodding.

 

“Just let me grab my stuff.”

They ride in comfortable silence for most of the way to New York, Raleigh occasionally pointing out random facts about landmarks along the way. Chuck still hasn’t explained why he gave Raleigh his number, opting to enjoy the silence and weirdly enough Raleigh’s company. As they get closer to New York City he figures he’d should let Raleigh know about what was going on, he’s more than one hundred percent positive that both Herc and Tendo have filled him in on most of it, but they’d been kind of quiet about dropping Herc off at the airport and gave more excuses than actual answers to the rest of the crew.

 

“Look so, I don’t know if Tendo told you, but my ol’ man had to fly back to see Uncle Scott in case they tried to get a summons or some shit, I can’t be bothering Tendo to keep me updated about getting ready for the show while I sit pretty on another useless interview, so I figure, you’re it. I need you to update me on anything and everything that is relative to the show, if we’re having problems or if the venue manager is being a cunt, you let me know, yeah? I mean every – little – thing.” Chuck only glances over at Raleigh near the end of his speech, trying to be a responsible driver considering he was more used to driving on the other side of the road.

 

“Of _course_ Chuck, I will _gladly_ keep you updated, about _everything_.”

 

Chuck doesn’t realize what’s he getting into.

The first few texts are innocent, if Chuck can call them that, Raleigh’s useless info about the venue, a few texts here or there about the size of certain things and what he thinks about the places’ acoustic range. They continue on from there and Chuck swears—on someone’s fucking grave—his phone is vibrating every other second with another text from Raleigh fucking Becket.

 

He’s trying not to check his phone time it vibrates, the interviewer—some posh asshole from Rolling Stones—looks like he’s about ready to strangle Chuck every time he glances over at his phone.

 

The interview always starts off nice, basic questions about what motivates Chuck, shit that he likes to do, really basic shit that anyone with a smartphone could look up on Wikipedia about Chuck. Music has always been more than a means of expression for Chuck, he’s never bothered admitting it though, especially not to some idiot from Rolling Stones. They’ve only barely started the interview, passed the first annoying personal questions and it becomes painfully obvious to Chuck that this guy doesn’t understand the concept of genuine constance. The guy probably jerks it to that little shit from Canada or – his fucking _fave_ (sarcastic) – his fellow Australian who claims she’s the ‘realest’.

 

 _Christ_ , Chuck thinks, _asshole wouldn’t know talent even if it were fucking him sideways_. Despite his feelings, he knows this is just a part of the industry, endless fine print with someone demanding someone else to bend over backwards to accommodate. Rolling Stones guy says Chuck’s America’s newest import, but honestly? He was indie music greatest kept secret until now.

 

By the time the interview is over, Chuck is feeling drained, he hates these things and how pointless they are, he’d rather be practicing new songs or working with Tendo to get any kinks out of the sound system before they go on stage. Instead he’s stuck on a couch talking to another pretentious asshole that thinks they “know” Chuck Hansen.

 

He finally slips away, checking his phone and nearly fucking throwing it against the wall. Raleigh Becket was a little shit and he fucking _knew_ it. He’d literally text Chuck about every fucking thing that could possibly have gone on during their initial set up. From adaptors to really dumb shit that Chuck didn’t actually need to know about nor stuff that he’d even asked Raleigh to tell him about.

        

 

Raleigh was doing this on fucking purpose – just to spite Chuck.

They sell out at this show, Chuck texts Herc proudly, boasting about how crowded it had been and security even had to remove a few people who’d snuck into see Chuck. Herc only replies back that if Scott gets out of jail, he’s going to kill him for having him miss out on this.

 

Chuck replies back that it’s okay, there will be more sold out shows, he’s sure of it.

 

_But this is your first and I’m missing it._

 

 _I don’t blame you,_ he writes back, _you’ll be there for more & that matters._

 

Weirdly enough—this is honestly the most emotional he and his father have ever really gotten with each other sober.

There’s a lull between shows now, they don’t really need to head out for another couple of days and the hotel is gracious enough (also apparently the owner is a _huge fan_ of Chuck’s) to offer a discount for their rooms and their longer stay. It’s definitely needed after the amount of traveling they’ve been doing and it’s a welcome moment of peace. Since the show, Raleigh and Chuck had begun to text, in Chuck’s mind it had become rather lax between them, Raleigh would text him things that no longer really pertained to his duties as a roadie and Chuck would text him random things back. Chuck’s kind of mad at himself for being so indifferent to Raleigh at the beginning, because he’s a decent bloke and Chuck realises that he had spent more time trying to justify his dislike and continue fueling it than getting to know Raleigh.

 

The day before they’re supposed to leave they decide to go out for lunch at some small restaurant they find while wandering the streets of NYC. There’s supposedly some special going on for bottomless beer if you get the morning special, it’s aptly named the ‘hangover special’. They drink quite a few, pay for their meals and continue to walk down the roads, sightseeing and enjoying each other’s company. Surprisingly enough, there’s a bar open, they both have the slight tinge of a buzz going on and agree, another drink won’t hurt.

 

Somehow it turns into an impromptu pub crawl for any place that has decided to open early, a couple shots here, a few beers there, the occasional challenge to drink the worst shot ever. It’s nice, it’s _fun_ and Chuck is honestly enjoying Raleigh’s jokes and jabs, giving back as much as he gets and then some.

 

“I definitely think once this tour is over, that Alison is going to be pregnant within a week and I—“ he looks over, expecting to see Raleigh walking next to him except he’s suddenly not there anymore. He turns back and realises Raleigh’s wandered off to the front of a grocery store they had barely passed, climbing into the small rocket ship just outside the doors. “Are you kidding me?” He yells back, turning to follow after him, biting his lip to stifle the laughter that was threatening to spill out, this was serious _Rah_ leigh.

 

Chuck would never admit it out loud and if he ever did he’d just say it was because of the alcohol in his system, but fuck did Raleigh look incredibly adorable sitting in the small rocket ship, knees bunched up to his chest with his hands gripping the tiny steering wheel. He was almost mystified that a man of Raleigh’s height managed to fit himself into the child ride. He’s drawn out of his thoughts by Raleigh, “c’mon Chuck, you have to have a quarter on you.”

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

 

“Don’t be a spoil sport Chuck, give me a damn quarter!” Raleigh’s laughing now and it resonates something deep in Chuck, he snorts and finally digs around in his pockets, pulling out a single quarter and handing it over to the blond. Raleigh doesn’t take it though, just glances at Chuck before glancing over at the change slot, giving Chuck a lopsided grin. The rocket shakes to life and Chuck is surprised to find it actually moving, barely, but still moving with Raleigh’s bulking frame in it.

 

Chuck bursts out laughing at the sight between the rockets slight dip back and forth and Raleigh’s hunched posture in the little ship makes it all the more comical. Raleigh’s grin only widens, starting to laugh along with Chuck. They both stop briefly as the grocery doors open and a mother glares at them both while ushering her own child along who stares at Raleigh with wide eyes. Raleigh tips his hat as they pass and as soon as they walk past Chuck and Raleigh burst out laughing again.

 

The ride eventually stops and Raleigh pouts, moving out of the small space rather gracefully as Chuck checks his phone. “C’mon space ranger, Choi says the bar across from the hotel is having happy hour right now, let’s keep the buzz a-going.” Raleigh readjusts his hat before following after Chuck. They giggle the entire way there, jostling each other back and forth.

By the time they make it to the bar, half of the road crew has turned in early, the rest, including Tendo, are busy pounding back shots in some sort of competition. One that Raleigh and Chuck eagerly join in with, wanting to prolong the nice buzz they have going on if not to get more of a buzz going. One of the roadies passes out and another graciously offers to take him back to the room.

 

Raleigh and Chuck move on to one of the arcade games the bar has off to the side, it’s a stupid Buckshot game and Raleigh bets that he can beat Chuck at it, claiming _I came from Alaska where hunting was invented or something_ , Chuck gladly takes him up on his offer (and wins).

 

Chuck isn’t sure how much time passes between when they arrived and to where they are now, but Tendo is ushering people up and out, nudging Chuck and reminding him that they need to turn in because they’re hitting the road early tomorrow.  

 

“Ugh, fine, stop mom-ing me Tendo, god.” _Fuck how much have I had to drink?_ Chuck shakes his head, blinking as the room spins slightly. Tendo laughs, patting Chuck on the back as he heads back with a couple of the other guys, “sure, leave me to grab Raleigh.” It’s said in jest and Chuck feels a sort of drunken remorse for not getting to know Raleigh earlier. He wobbles his way over to Raleigh, hunched over an old Pac-Man arcade game, attempting to win but clearly failing miserably.

 

His hat is on a stool to the left of the game, Chuck doesn’t think of much before picking it up and putting it on, laughing at Raleigh’s mock offended gasp as he does so. “C’mon Becket, time to go.”

 

“If you insist,” Raleigh gives him a wide grin before purposely driving Pac-Man into the red ghost, ending the game quickly. They walk the way back to the hotel in a comfortable silence, bodies swaying back and forth with a deep and comfortable buzz. Chuck can’t help but notice the pleasant body warmth that radiates off of Raleigh every time they brush against each other, the slight electric shock that makes his fingers tingle every single time Raleigh’s brush up against his.

 

Raleigh leans up against the wall as they reach Chuck’s room first, watching him dig around in his pockets for his room key before realizing he slipped it into his wallet. He glances up at Raleigh as he holds it up triumphantly, suddenly remembering that he’d procured Raleigh’s hat earlier at the bar. “Ya’ gonna take ya’ hat back?” he asks, a little loudly. Raleigh makes no moves to do so, only stares at Chuck, lips slightly parted, “take your ridiculous hat back Becket.” Chuck murmurs quietly, realizing he’s staring at Raleigh’s mouth more than he’d like to admit. Raleigh starts to say something and before Chuck realises he’s pressing in close and kissing Raleigh.

 

Chuck thinks Raleigh gasps, briefly, he can’t think of much except that Raleigh’s lips are soft and smooth compared to his own chapped ones and that he’s kissing Chuck back slowly.  Raleigh tastes like the shitty cheap beer he kept drinking at the bar, the one he kept demanding that Chuck take a taste of and wouldn’t give up until Chuck finally took a sip. He doesn’t remember grabbing onto the lapels of Raleigh’s jacket but nonetheless he tugs him closer using his grip. It seems like forever when Chuck eventually pulls back, letting go of Raleigh’s jacket and finally reaching up and pulling off the hat and repositioning it onto Raleigh’s head in a downward slope. There’s a heavy blush setting across Raleigh’s cheeks and he has that goofy lopsided grin he had on earlier at the market. Fuck.

 

“Goodnight Ray.”

 

Raleigh blushes a little more, “goodnight Chuck,” it’s barely above a whisper, and Chuck almost doesn’t hear, before turning and walking away to his room.  

 

**Author's Note:**

> if you see any errors, grammar stuff, or just wanna say hi send me an ask at my [tumblr](http://lyraae.tumblr.com)


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